He's thirteen actually Oh and his name is Elliott
by MoonPrisimPower
Summary: The day Maya Hansen walked through Tony Stark's front door would change his life forever. Whether it was what he would have enter his life or just the knowledge that it existed. His life would never be the same. My take on what would have happened if Maya wasn't joking about the kid in her car. Pepperony. Iron Man movieverse.


**I decided it would be fun to write this but its, to me at least what would have happened if Maya Hansen wasn't joking about the thirteen year old kid in her car. In this, The Mandarin does happen but he doesn't happen. He does but he doesn't;). Like I'm not gonna be writing about him here at all and Maya isn't going to be involved at all. Tony does threaten The Mandarin but that's all you hear about the incident.**

**Here we go...**

DING DONG. The door bell rang and Tony jumped from where he was sitting.

'Jarvis, we're meant to be on total lock down I threatened a terrorist!' he shouted nervously walking towards the screen of the camera above the door. He saw it was a woman getting out of a car. Feeling more confident he strolled to the front door in the suit. He had his gun at the ready and opened the door. There she stood. A woman who's face he actually recognised as someone he had seen before. He still had his gun out as he said ' You're not The Mandarin are you?'

'No.' She said looking puzzled. Tony retracted his gun and the faceplate of his suit rose so she could now see him.

'My name is Maya Hansen. We met before. In Bern, Switzerland. It was New year of 2000 I believe.' she said looking serious. Her facial expression unnerved Tony and he shifted his gaze to glance at the monitor of the camera. He could see something in the back of the car.

'Please don't tell me there is a twelve-year-old kid in the back of that car I have never met.' He said looking worried.

'He's thirteen. Oh and his name is Elliott.' she said with an air of relief. Like she had lifted a burden from her shoulders.

'What.' He said raising his eyebrow in shock. 'Please... Please tell me you are joking.' He said. She slowly moved her head and Tony felt his world fall from beneath his feet. He had nothing to say. He felt nothing. His gaze dropped to the floor. An empty feeling surged through his body and he just stood there. His jaw even dropped. His eyes became glassy. The only thing that came through his mind was Pepper. Realization burned his insides with a pain from another world. Before her, he would have accepted this and gotten on with it but now. She was the centre of his universe. She mattered most. What would she say? What would she do? Would she still want to be with him after this? The thought of rejection crashed through his whole being. It crushed him. The one thing he could not live without could be taken by his past. Too much. It was too much for him to even process. He looked back up at her and his eyes surged into a glare. Not a regular glare. One tangled with confusion and pain.

'I wish I was. I really do. For his sake.' she said returning the glare. Tensions were rising very fast. It was at this point Jarvis jumped into the conversation.

'Sir,I really do not wish to disturb you but I think it would be best to remind you Miss Potts is only upstairs.'

'Why. Why would you do this to me now. Why would you start to tell me all of this now.' He said raising his voice with each word.

'I'm telling you now because you needed to know.' she said sorely.

'Does he know?' Tony said in a very bitter stern voice.

'Yes. It's the reason you needed to know. You both needed to know' She replied bitterly.

'How long has he known?' Tony asked trying to contain his anger. He couldn't understand why she would do this. As he looked at Maya more he realised exactly who she was. Extremis. The exploding plant. Happy's terrible body-guard skills.

'I told him 2 weeks ago. I never intended to hide it from him because that would be selfish. I told him all his life I would tell him when he was old enough to understand and when he became thirteen I knew it was time.'

'Two weeks ago. His birthday then, right?' He said with a vague smirk forming on his face. 'It's only August meaning his birthday was mid July. He couldn't be mine' he thought to himself.

'Yeah, It was. Why?' She said again puzzled but clearly loosing her patience.

'Well then he ain't mine sweetheart.' He said with a great sense of relief.

'He was premature. 6 weeks.' She said. He flung his head back out of frustration. Why. Why was this happening to him now. The anger rocketed inside of him and he couldn't contain himself for a second longer.

So then you brought him with you? Why. Are you trying to cause trouble. WHY?' He said, his voice getting louder and his tone more harsh and bitter with every word that left his mouth.

'It was him who wanted to come here not me.' She shouted back. 'I told him he was better off keeping away. Keeping to what he knew. He was told. I told him. I said you would cast him aside, reject him. He didn't listen. He wanted to see you. I told him no but after a week I decided he was old enough to make his own decisions so I brought him here.' She shouted rushing her words to defend herself. 'That's when they heard a clattering of heels.

'Tony, whats going on down there? Who are you talking to?' Pepper shouted from the landing of the stairs.

'Its fine honey. Just having a pleasant conversa...' His words were cut off by heels getting louder with every step. Both Maya and Tony looked in the direction the noise was coming from. As this happened neither one of them noticed the small boy coming through the front door.

'Tony what the hell ar...' Her own words just stopped as she spotted the boy behind both Tony and Maya.

'Oh my god. Please don't tell me he is yours.' She said looking at the boy dropping the bag she had just packed. Both Tony and Maya looked puzzled. They followed her eyes and turned to spot the boy standing behind them. It was Elliott.

He looked young for his age but he was Tony's without a doubt. his messy black hair fell in the very same way Tony's did and their faces were very similar. He was dressed in a blue hoodie with an AC/DC t-shirt, purple high-top shoes and black jeans.

'Wow. I got nothing' Pepper said stunned. 'I really don't know what to say this time. I can't. I think. I think I'm going to go out for an hour. Clear my head and give you two a chance to sort this out.' She grabbed her keys from the small table near the door and looked back to say bye when she spotted the kid for the second time. He looked out-of-place and awkward. 'You coming kid?' Before she knew what she was saying the words had already left her mouth. _  
_

'Actually, that's probably best. Go with her Elliott.' Maya said looking at the boy who then got up and started to walk towards Pepper. Looking slightly remorseful she led the boy outside to the garage. As she walked over to her car she was lost in her own thoughts about the boy. What would this do to them. She could handle having him in their lives but Tony. Tony was unpredictable. She knew him inside and out. He had always said he could never see himself as a farther but she knew he was looking at it from a different perspective as he would wondered whether this would make him or break him. It could be what he needed. A new-found responsibility like nothing else. It could also break him into pieces. She wondered if he would cope with the reality of the situation and felt bad for leaving him but she knew it was best for the time being. It was best so he could sort things out with the mother. The boy aimlessly followed until he saw what exactly it was he was walking to. His mouth opened slightly in awe as his eyes feasted upon the black Audi.

'Wow. This is a nice car you've got Miss...' He said loosing his words due to a lack of knowledge.

'Potts and yeah. It was one of the perks of working for Tony.' She said smiling. They climbed into the car. There was a click of seatbelts before the car drove away.

'Jarvis. Can you let me know if anything gets out of hand at home. I don't want Tony doing anything stupid.' Pepper said bluntly. She glanced at the boy for a second. Her eyes hit the road and she started to think about him. How must he feel in all of this?

Setting aside her own feelings, she felt sorry for him. Rationally she knew he was the victim in all this.

'So... Elliott. Tell me a bit about yourself. What kind of music do you like?' She said trying to make small talk. She felt it needed to be less awkward.

'Well. I like AD/DC but I also like Florence + The Machine and Fleetwood Mac. What about you Miss Potts' he said sweetly. She was surprised at how he wasn't shying away. That's when she remembered he could be Tony's.

'Interesting. I like Fleetwood Mac too. Want me to put some on, or anything else?' She said back relaxing a bit more. It was strange but he made her feel at ease. He was so laid back and relaxed.

'Yeah that would be nice. You choose though. Too many good songs.' He said back to her. He had Tony's better genes that's for sure she thought.

'Jarvis.' She said to the AI with a smile.

'Right away Miss Potts.' The AI replied. Landslide started playing. Pepper caught a smile creep onto the boy's face and it made her smile. She knew she would have to approach the topic of Tony and his Mother some time but she didn't know how to. They sat there for the duration of the song and listened. As the song was ending the boy turned his head to face Pepper.

'Whats going to happen now Miss Potts?' He said looking at her. On the outside he was calm but as she quickly looked at him to answer she caught a glimpse of the Terror inside him. The only form of terror she has only ever seen in Tony's eyes before.


End file.
